Fishing For A Day
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Oneshot following way of the Samurai. Antonio takes the Rangers finishing.


_Disclaimer: I do not own anything_

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><p>It wasn't often Antonio had company with him when he was fishing, but with little Nighlok activity and nothing to do around the house, the Rangers decided they would come with him to see how he spent most of his days when he wasn't working on the black box.<p>

He had given them all a fishing rod and enough bait to last them the day. He wasn't fishing for business today. He just wanted to relax, so he had instructed the Rangers to catch and release any of the fish they caught, if they did catch any.

He sat back, enjoying the peace and quiet. It was rare for all the Rangers to be together in silence, but he enjoyed it. He watched his friends with a smile and a warm feeling spread through his body. They were bonding over something he loved. Just by sitting back by the river he felt like they were eager for him to teach them a little more about himself, and he was ready to share.

"My dad always used to say fishing was the best way to get to know someone," Antonio broke the silence and smiled at all five of his friends. "Just by watching how people fish you can see whether or not they're patient, determined, focused, and if they can stand your company for several hours straight or not."

"This is relaxing," Jayden nodded his head and he began to lean back. He didn't care if he caught a fish or not. He was enjoying spending his time outside fishing with his friends.

"Did you and your dad fish often?" Emily asked the gold Ranger. He nodded his head.

"Almost every morning we would be fishing at the crack of dawn. We needed fresh fish to sell. It was great."

"This is a lot easier than what I used to have to do at the crack of dawn," Emily turned back to her line in the water.

Antonio chuckled, "Just wait until the fish fight back. Most of them don't enjoy being caught."

"Most chickens don't enjoy having their eggs stolen," Emily muttered. "They didn't like me much… especially the rooster."

"I have to visit your farm," Antonio smirked.

"I think I caught something!" Kevin cried out when he felt a tug on his line. He remembered Antonio's instructions at the start of the day and began reeling in the fish carefully. Finally, he pulled his catch out of the water.

"You caught weeds!" Mike teased the blue Ranger as Kevin pulled the weeds from his hook. "Man, I wish I was as good a fisherman as you, Kev."

"Shut up, Mike," Kevin chuckled. He cleaned his hook but saw his bait was gone. As he tossed the weeds back into the water he asked Mia to grab him a worm from the container they shared. Mia shook her head.

"Do you really expect me to touch that?" she asked her fiancé. Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Right, sorry."

"It's just an earthworm," Antonio shrugged. "It won't kill you."

"I'm not scared it's going to kill me," Mia answered. "I'm just not going to touch one. They're nasty."

"They're friendly," Antonio chuckled. He handed his rod to Jayden and pulled a worm from his container. He snuck up behind Mia and dangled the worm in front of her face. "See," he laughed as the worm danced around in the air, "it likes you."

"Antonio!" Mia swatted Antonio's hand away from her face, forcing him to drop the worm. Unfortunately the little creature landed in Mia's lap. Her eyes were wide as she stared down at it. "Get it off!"

"Is Mia afraid of a little worm?" Antonio teased as he plucked the worm from Mia's lap. He held it in his hands for her to see. Mia backed away slowly from the gold Ranger.

"They're slimy, nasty little buggers," she said. "They should stay in the dirt where they belong."

Antonio pet the worm gently, "Aw, she didn't mean that, little guy. Auntie Mia loves you."

"I lost my bait," Mike called and he snatched the worm from Antonio's hand and slid it along his hook. Mia watched, completely disgusted while Antonio chuckled.

"That's the end of that worm," he said. He turned back to Mia, "You got lucky today."

"Why don't you try fishing?" Jayden offered to Mia. He handed Antonio his rod back and then gestured to the extra rod on the ground. "You don't need to do much."

"I'm good with watching," Mia shook her head. "Besides, I couldn't get a worm on the hook if my life depended on it."

"I got something!" Kevin cried out again and he tried reeling in his catch for a second time. The Rangers watched eager to see what he would pull out from the lake.

"It better not be more weeds," Mike teased his friend.

When Kevin pulled his catch out of the water he was happy to see there was a fish flopping around at the end of his line. He brought it over and laid the fish on the ground as it tried to flop away.

"Um, Antonio, how do you get the fish off the hook?" Kevin asked. He tried getting his fingers near the fish's face, but the fish was moving around so much that Kevin was scared of getting close. Antonio gently grabbed the fish and showed Kevin and the other Rangers how to get the hook out of its mouth without hurting the fish. When that was done, he handed the fish back to Kevin.

"Would you like the honours of throwing it back?" he offered to the blue Ranger. Kevin nodded, took the fish, and tossed it back into the water.

"First catch of the day to me."

"Of course," Mike rolled his eyes.

"What do you do with the fish after you catch them?" Mia asked Antonio. "I mean, the ones you don't release."

"I usually put them on ice," Antonio answered. "Most of the time I sell my fish whole. When I know I'll be cooking the fish for you guys, though, I have to gut them."

"Gut them?" Jayden asked.

Antonio nodded his head, "After removing the scales you basically cut the fish open and rip out its guts." Antonio started to chuckle when he saw a couple of faces turning green.

"Stop now before you turn me off seafood," Mia held up her hand. "I'm just going to ignore everything I just heard."

"You get your hands dirty," Antonio nodded, "but it's a really fun job once you get into it. I can teach you guys with some of the fish we have back home."

"No, thank you," Jayden shook his head. "I think we're all fine with not knowing what you do to our fish before we eat it."

"I want to know," Emily smiled, surprising the rest of the team as they gave her shocked looks. She shrugged her shoulders. "What? When I was fourteen my dad taught me how to kill a chicken. I watched the chicken go from the coop to my plate."

"And you ate it?" Mia asked.

"I had to," Emily nodded. "Mom made apple pie for dessert and I couldn't eat that unless I ate my chicken."

"And that makes me a vegetarian," Mia muttered.

"It's the circle of life," Antonio shrugged his shoulders. "We need to eat… though I would understand if you guys didn't want a fish dinner tonight. It took me a few days to get used to eating fish once I realised the fish sticks on my plate were the same as the fish in the oceans and rivers. It takes a while to teach yourself to separate the two."

"Or apple pie," Emily giggled. "I'll eat anything if I know mom's apple pie is for dessert."

"Seriously, we're going to your farm," Antonio smirked. "I love apple pie!"

Emily nodded her head, "You'll like it. We have a stream at the end of our farm. It's full of fish. And mom always makes her pie when there's company. When the apples are picked fresh it tastes the best."

"Antonio," Jayden called for his best friend and Antonio turned around at the sound of his name. He saw Jayden was wrestling with his fishing rod, having obviously caught something that was putting up a fight. "A little help over here."

"Coming, amigo," Antonio hurried over to Jayden and helped his best friend keep hold of the rod while the catch on the other end tugged and pulled mercilessly.

The other Rangers watched on anxiously as Antonio coached Jayden on how to reel the fish in properly, and when the catch was pulled from the water they all began to chuckle. It wasn't a fish, but an old boot someone had lost in the lake.

"That explains the weight," Antonio laughed as he unhooked the boot from Jayden's line and set it on the ground. "We should probably throw this away properly."

"Do what you want with it," Jayden nodded. "I don't think I need it."

Antonio chuckled. He wanted to help Jayden cast his line out into the river again but he noticed the sun was starting to get low in the sky and the Rangers had all promised Mentor they would be home in time for dinner. He took the rod from his best friend and started collecting all the others from the Rangers.

"Not many bites today," he said as he began packing everything up, "but we're going to have to head back if we want to be home on time."

"It's time to go already?" Mike whined. He checked the time on his Samuraizer. "Dude, that sucks! I didn't catch anything."

"Jealous, green Ranger?" Kevin taunted.

"I'll take the rods," Antonio told the Rangers. "Jay, wanna get my bag and carry it home?"

"Sure," Jayden nodded as he grabbed Antonio's bag. It had been filled with snacks when the Rangers first began fishing, but everything had been eaten as the day progressed.

"Here, Mia," Emily giggled, handing Mia the containers of worms, "You can carry these home."

"Yeah, right," Mia shook her head while refusing to touch the containers. "You're the earth girl. The earthworms are your responsibility."

"Fine, then you'll have to grab the soggy old boot," Emily gestured to the boot. Mia looked down and then up at the boys who had already started making their way home. She snatched the containers of worms from Emily.

"It's not like they'll be able to slime me through the Styrofoam, right?" she chuckled nervously. Emily giggled and rolled her eyes before picking up the boot.

As he walked the team home, Antonio was reminded of what the end of the day was like when he went fishing with his father. When he was a little boy and he and his father would fish for fun, his dad would always take him for ice-cream at the end of the long day. He couldn't relive that memory, not when Mentor Ji was expecting them home, but just the thought was enough for now.

"Yo, Antonio," Mike called and Antonio was snapped out of his thoughts. He turned to the green Ranger as Mike flicked his thumb over his shoulder, "Wrong way, dude? The Shiba House is down this way."

"Right, sorry. Lost in thought," Antonio chuckled.

"What are you thinking about?" Jayden asked his best friend as Antonio was set back on track. The gold Ranger smirked.

"Ice-cream."

"Ice-cream?" Emily asked from the back of the pack. Her smile went from one ear to the other. "I could do with ice-cream."

"Maybe after dinner," Mia promised her little sister. She looked at Antonio, "Why were you thinking about ice-cream?"

"My dad took me out for ice-cream when I was a kid. We would always go to the same little shop in town after a day of fishing. They served the best ice-cream there. I would always get chocolate. Dad was a fan of raspberry ripple. We would sit on the curb outside the shop and eat our cones."

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun with your dad," Jayden smiled at his friend. Antonio nodded.

"We were lucky. We had so much in common. He taught me everything I know about fishing. I loved every lesson and hung onto his every word."

"Do you miss him?" Kevin asked.

"Do you miss your families?" Antonio answered. "I know I chose to be a Samurai but sometimes I wish I could spend the day with my dad again. You guys would love him. He's such a cool guy."

"When we seal away Master Xandred you can tell your dad everything," Jayden promised Antonio with a smile. "He has a right to know his son is a hero. As long as he promises to keep the Samurai thing a secret."

"He would," Antonio nodded. "I'm sure of that. He's been nothing but supportive, especially after mom died."

"Cool!" Emily giggled and five heads turned to her.

"Antonio's mom being dead is cool?" Mike asked his girlfriend. Emily looked up and shook her head.

"No, that sucks," she said. She reached her hand into the old, wet boot and pulled out what appeared to be a blue stone. "I've never seen a rock this colour before."

"Give it here?" Kevin asked. Emily handed him the rock and he examined it carefully. He noticed that the rock seemed to be moving around as he played with it, almost as if it were filled with water. He furrowed his brow, "That's a weird rock, Em."

"Why do I hear the ocean?" Jayden looked around. The only source of water was the stream they had just left, and it sounded nothing like the ocean.

Kevin examined the rock one more time, "I think… I think it's coming from this…"

"Ohh! Let me see!" Emily giggled and snatched the rock from Kevin. When she went to listen to it, though, the rock made no noise. She frowned and looked at it. "Aw, you're boring."

Kevin noticed the rock looked different in Emily's hand and reached to take it back from her. As soon as it was back in his hands he saw it started to look like it was filled with water and the sounds of the ocean could be heard once again.

"Dude, you turned it on," Mike chuckled, sneaking a closer look at the rock. "How do you do that?"

"I don't know," Kevin shrugged his shoulders. He gave the rock to Mike and it returned to its regular, blue, rocky appearance. "Okay, that's just weird."

"Maybe we should take it home?" Antonio suggested. "Mentor might know what it is."

"Where did you find this, Em?" Jayden asked the yellow Ranger. Emily held up the boot.

"In this stinky thing."

"Keep the boot, then," Jayden told her. He turned to Antonio, "Going fishing was a good idea. Whatever that rock is, it's safest in our hands."

"Dude, turn it on again," Mike chuckled while holding out the rock for Kevin to take. The blue Ranger sighed as he took the rock from Mike and _'turned it on'_. The green Ranger giggled like a little child.

"Cool!"

"Leave it to Mike to get distracted by something shiny," Mia teased.

"I always knew there were treasures to be found underwater," Antonio grinned proudly as he eyed the rock, "but I never thought I would ever come across one while fishing."

"Hey, I pulled out the boot it was found in," Jayden reminded the gold Ranger. Antonio stuck his tongue out.

"My hobby, my find."


End file.
